UBC – Phar400Pharmacy Management

Employment Law EssentialsMarch 2, 2012Gerry Spitzner

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Why you should stay awake during this

One of the biggest issues facing Canadian Businesses today is...

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The Most Common Areas of Dispute◦ Employment Contracts—interpretation and

enforceability of terms, conditions and clauses.

◦ Employment Dismissals / Terminations—wrongful, constructive and for cause.

◦ Notice for Terminated Employees—disputes over severance packages and terms of dismissal.

◦ Workplace Issues—harassment, violence, privacy, electronic media use, disability, medical leaves and absenteeism.

Gerry Spitzner

Employment and Labour Law Disputes

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Overview of the main BC Employment and Labour Laws that govern the workplace

Disclaimer: These items are intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or relied upon as legal advice. The legal issues addressed in these items are subject to changes in the applicable law. You should always seek competent legal advice concerning any specific issues affecting you or your business.

My Goal for today is...

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What’s the difference?◦ EMPLOYMENT LAW in Canada generally refers to

the law governing the relationship of an individual employee to an employer,

◦ as distinguished from LABOUR LAW, the law of unionized COLLECTIVE BARGAINING relationships.

◦ Employment law is concerned mainly with wrongful dismissal, and a complex mass of statute law dealing with minimum labour standards, human rights, occupational health & safety and workers' compensation.

Gerry Spitzner

Employment Law and Labour Law

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Thoughtstarters

Human Rights Act and BC Human Rights Code

Employment Standards Act

Labour Relations

Workers Compensation Act

Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)

Road Map for Today

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Thought startersManaging The HR Process

Human resources management (HRM) is a process that can be effectively and productively managed.

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People Are An Investment in The Business

◦ Human resources (HR) are a substantial investment for most companies.

◦ Employees are your internal customers.

◦ People are your most important resource.

◦ HRM is an on-going process that constantly needs attention.

◦ Potential legal liability if HRM is not fair and consistent.

◦ Create a positive workplace

Thoughtstarter | Human Resources

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Managing human resources is 10% law and 90% process – the fairness and consistency of your methods will determine your results

Leadership, Communication and Systems are the key to fairness and consistency

Thoughtstarter | Important Insight

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“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said” - Peter Drucker, management ‘guru’

The 3 Elements of Direct Face to Face Communication

◦Words only account for 7% of any message

◦Emphasis and Tone accounts for 38%.

◦Body Language accounts for 55%.

Thoughtstarter | Communication

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“You don't manage people; you manage things. You lead people.” – Grace Hopper

◦ Manage things including processes, tasks, jobs, numbers and information; lead people and teams.

◦ People are primarily emotionally driven; appeal to both the heart and the head.

◦ The quality of your employee's work experience has a direct impact on the quality of your customer's experience.

Thoughtstarter | Leadership

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Do positive employee relations and practices affect customer experience?◦ Obtaining a new customer costs 5 times more than

retaining a loyal customer, and replacing an employee will cost 100% or more of that employee’s annual wages.

◦ Over 68% of customers leave a business relationship due to attitude and indifference.

◦ Consider the cost to acquire a customer and the potential Life Time Value ( L T V ) each one represents.

◦ Consider the cost of replacing & training a new employee.

Thoughtstarter | Customer Experience

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Human RightsThere are currently four key mechanisms in Canada to protect human rights: 1. the Canadian Charter of Rights

and Freedoms, 2. the Canadian Human Rights

Act, 3. Human Rights Commissions,

and 4. provincial human rights laws

and legislation.Gerry Spitzner

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Human rights laws operate in two jurisdictions: the federal and the provincial◦ Canadian Human Rights Act is administered and

enforced by the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Tribunal

◦ British Columbia Human Rights Code is administered by the BC Human Rights Tribunal

◦ Both pieces of legislation are similar in the protections they provide

◦ Neither the federal nor provincial legislation trumps or supercedes the other. Rather, the appropriate legislation is determined according to which level of government regulates a specific area.

Gerry Spitzner

Human Rights in Canada | Overview

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A statute originally passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 ◦ goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to

individuals

◦ based on a set prohibited grounds such as gender, disability, or religion

◦ applied throughout Canada, but only to federally regulated activities. (ie Fed Govt Dept’s, Crown Corps, private companies such as airlines, banks, telephone, radio and TV stations)

◦ each province and territory has its own anti-discrimination law that applies to activities that are not federally regulated

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Canadian Human Rights Act

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Most significant impact on HRM comes from human rights legislation.

Human rights law entitles every Canadian to equal opportunity to employment and the right to work each day free of discrimination and harassment.

Specifically, the act falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Justice Department

Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Canadian Human Rights Act

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Examples of areas regulated by the federal government and governed by the Canadian Human Rights Act would include employment and services of:◦ the federal government and all its ministries;

◦ all arms of the federal government such as the R.C.M.P. the Employment Insurance Commission or Canada Post;

◦ telecommunications, which are regulated by the CRTC, all inter-provincial transportation such as Air Canada and Via Rail;

◦ chartered banks, but not credit unions; and

◦ all unions attached to any of the above.

Gerry Spitzner

Human Rights | The Federal System

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Prohibits discrimination in employment advertisements, wages, employment standards, and discrimination by unions and associations.

If another statute, such as the Worker's Compensation Act, conflicts with it, the BC Human Rights Code takes priority.

BC Human Rights Code

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Discrimination and Harassment◦Discrimination and harassment is defined

by it’s effect, not the intention,

◦does not have to be intentional to be illegal under the Code.

◦It is the employer's responsibility to maintain working conditions free of discrimination and harassment, regardless of whether the employer is the cause of the discrimination or not.

BC Human Rights Code

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Workplace & Sexual Harassment◦Serious issue in today's workplaces and

can be quite costly for organizations.

◦Ensuring a clear policy to address concerns and steps to try to resolve issues is a firm step to creating and maintaining a healthy workplace and avoiding legal turmoil.

◦Employers are responsible for protecting their employees.

BC Human Rights Code

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Prohibited Grounds of Discrimination◦ race, colour, ancestry, place of origin

◦political belief, religion

◦marital status, family status

◦physical or mental disability

◦sex, sexual orientation

◦age

◦conviction for a criminal or summary conviction offence that is unrelated to the job in question

BC Human Rights Code

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Recruitment and selection◦Interviewing, reference checking

◦Job postings

◦The interview

◦Making the offer

◦Reference checks (calls from other employers)

◦Social Media

BC Human Rights Code

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The BC Human Rights Code, applies to employers, service providers and all provincially regulated businesses and agencies.

Examples of provincially regulated areas include:

◦ all provincial, local and municipal government departments, services and policies;

◦ schools and universities;

◦ hospitals and medical clinics;

◦ all private businesses & services such as stores, restaurants, movie theatres;

◦ credit unions;

◦ non-profit organizations and some of the services they provide;

◦ rental accommodations including hotels and rental property; and

◦ the purchase of either residential or commercial property.

Gerry Spitzner

Human Rights |The System in BC

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BC Employment Standards Act

ESA is legislation enacted by the provincial government to protect the rights of working people.

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If you are an employer in B.C., for most occupations the applicable legislation is the British Columbia Employment Standards Act.

The ESA--refers to the basic or minimum employment conditions in any organization.

BC Employment Standards Act

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The purposes of this Act◦Sections within the act outline the

employers responsibility to their employees,

◦notably things such as minimum wage, meal breaks, dispute resolution and parental leave.

◦The act also works to protect residents of the province by preventing employment discrimination.

BC Employment Standards Act

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Scope of this Act◦applies to all employees other than those

excluded by regulation.

◦If a collective agreement contains no provision respecting a matter, the specified provision of this Act is deemed to be incorporated in the collective agreement as part of its terms.

BC Employment Standards Act

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Wages and benefits Pay administration and payroll records Paydays How wages are paid Payroll records Deductions Assignments

BC Employment Standards Act

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Labour RelationsLabour relations--governs the relationship between a trade union and an employer.

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The BC Labour Relations Board is ◦an independent, administrative tribunal

with the mandate to mediate and adjudicate employment and labour relations matters related to unionized workplaces.

◦The role of the union is to be the voice of employees, particularly during collective bargaining.

Labour Relations Board

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The Labour Relations Code is primarily concerned with collective bargaining and labour management relations in BC.

The Labour Relations Code governs all aspects of collective bargaining amongst the provincially-regulated employers and employees.

Labour Relations Code

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Collective Bargaining Agreements◦Collective bargaining produces a collective

agreement which is a legal document outlining the terms and conditions of employment.

◦Frequently referred to by the acronym of CBA.

◦The labour contract sets down the relationship between the employer and the employees and among the employees themselves.

◦The resolution of contract disputes is through a grievance procedure.

Labour Relations | CBA

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Workers Compensation Act

This Act applies to all employers, and all workers in British Columbia except employers or workers exempted by order of the Board.

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Workplace policies and practices must comply with applicable Occupational Health and Safety laws and regulations

and with Workers' Compensation laws and regulations, which deal with compensation for accidents and disease.

Workers Compensation Act

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Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)◦The OHS Regulation contains legal

requirements that must be met by all workplaces under the inspection jurisdiction of WorkSafeBC.

◦Many sections of the Regulation have associated guidelines and policies.

◦Applies to all organizations and recent changes have placed more responsibility on employees for the creation and maintenance of a healthy and safe work environment.

Workers Compensation Act

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OHS policy needs to be specific and deal with any unique workplace issues.

Here is a sample list of issues:◦Smoking and scents

◦Workplace violence

◦Working alone

◦Blood borne pathogens

◦Substance abuse

Workers Compensation Act

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Consider this list for Pharmacy...◦immunization, safe sharps disposal,

returned medication disposal, compounding labs, hazardous materials, robbery prevention, ladders, box cutters, deliveries, repetitive motion, height of the counter, lighting, air conditioning, air quality, ventilation, first aid.

Workers Compensation Act

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Health and Safety Committee◦An employer must establish and

maintain a joint health and safety committee

◦(a) in each workplace where 20 or more workers of the employer are regularly employed, and

◦(b) in any other workplace for which a joint committee is required by order.

Workers Compensation Act

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Work Safe BC◦Dedicated to promoting workplace health

and safety for the workers and employers of BC.

◦Consult with and educate employers and workers and monitor compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.

◦Assessments are a % of payroll and are based on classification

Workers Compensation Act

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Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) is independent from government and monitors and enforces British Columbia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

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The federal government brought the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) into force in January /04.

BC chose to introduce its own legislation, namely the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA),

which regulates the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by private organizations.

Personal Information Protection Act

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Legal requirements◦To be in compliance with the Act, every organization in B.C. must have appointed a person to oversee their personal information policy.

◦Provincial employment standards mandate the collection and retention of some specific employee information, particularly with respect to payroll.

Personal Information Protection Act

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Employee files and confidentiality◦ESA requires employers to keep certain

employment records. Security of personnel files

◦establish a secure location for storing employee records

Employee access Company website

◦Privacy policy

Personal Information Protection Act

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Defined Employment Law and Labour Law HRM is 10% Law/90% process; fairness &

consistency Communication is key leadership

characteristic Manage things; lead people Four key areas of law as it applies to BC Human rights, Employments Standards Act,

Labour Code and Workers Compensation Act How Personal Info Protection Act applies to

employees Gerry Spitzner

In Summary

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Questions?

Thanks

Gerry Spitzner

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